Weight gain leads to personality changes

People who gain a significant amount of weight may experience personality changes as a result of the extra pounds, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). .

While previous studies have found that some personality traits predispose people to weight gain, little research has explored if and how personalities change after weight is gained. But the scientists at NIH analyzed two sets of data 10 years apart on the personality traits and weight of more than 1,900 people. They found that people who had a 10 percent increase in body weight grew more impulsive and were more likely to give in to temptations than the people whose weight remained more or less stable.

The people who gained weight also became more self-conscious of their impulsive decisions and showed increased sensitivity about their appearance.

“The inability to control cravings may reinforce a vicious cycle that weakens the self-control muscle,” the researchers wrote in the journal Psychological Science. "Yielding to temptation today may reduce the ability to resist cravings tomorrow. Thus, individuals who gain weight may have increased risk for additional weight gain through changes in their personality.”

The end of gray hairs?

Between the so-called ‘vampire treatment’ for balding and now a new approach to dealing with gray hair, a key component of midlife crises may become a thing of the past.

Research published in the experimental-biology publication FASEB Journal described a treatment to counteract the natural build up of hydrogen peroxide in hair follicles, which is what causes age-related graying.

Hair follicles produce hydrogen peroxide all the time, but younger people have an enzyme called catalase that breaks down the hydrogen peroxide into water before it causes oxidative stress to the hair. As people age, however, they have lower levels of catalase, which means that has less protection against oxidative damage and eventually turns gray.

For the study, researchers analyzed 2,411 people with a disease called vitiligo, a condition that causes the skin to lose its pigmentation for the same reason that hair turns gray–oxidative stress. They found that treating the skin and eyelashes of people with vitiligo with a topical substance called PC-KUS successfully reversed the pigmentation damage.

But think twice before reversing gray hair for good—some studies have shown that gray hair indicates good health in some species.

Tanning beds reclassified to reflect cancer risk

Tanning beds may soon come with a stronger warning label. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is pushing to reclassify indoor tanning products from a Class I device to a Class II device, indicating a higher risk of cancer from their use.

According to research from the American Academy of Dermatology, people who use indoor tanning beds to expose themselves to ultraviolet light have a 75 percent higher risk of developing melanoma skin cancer than people who shy away from the fake rays. Also, researchers from the University of California San Francisco have reported in the BMJ (British Medical Journal) that tanning beds cause 170,000 cases of skin cancer every year in the U.S. Nevertheless, people continue to flock to tanning beds, particularly teenagers under 18, to try to get a summer bronze.

The new labeling would, according to FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, will “provide consumers with clear and consistent information” on the many health risks associated with tanning beds.